There must be an infinite number of possible thoughts on any one piece of art, but we will only cover seven, a weeks worth. For 52 weeks, through 2009, you will see a work of art from the Portland Art Museum* and a riff each day inspired by it – prose, poetry, photos, video, thoughts or ponderings.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Carrie Mae Weems - Jim and Mission Impossible

Alfred Maurer reappeared after a short hiatus, full of wonder and questions. Comments, too; we'll get to those later. We watched the Winston Marsalis and then went to sleep. This morning I thought about his reaction to "Jim". He loved the tonal qualities of the black and white. The pendant hanging above the kitchen table casts light down from a circle of brightness. The cubist in Alfred thought the well defined black triangle emphasized the circle. Floating across the middle of the image is smoke from what is probably Jim's 10th cigarette. I couldn't get Alfred to tell me if he used to smoke but he obviously understood the sense of despair that Jim must have been feeling. He remembers Harlem and figures Jim may be between jobs, between girls and looking to smoke and drink to comfort him. Alfred thought the choice of wine was a good one. He just hoped that Jim wouldn't be drinking it all at once. He also wondered what that object was in the upper right hand corner. I told him we'd head to the museum this morning and check it out. Weems' reference to mission will also come later.

For now, I'll leave you with this short video of Carrie Mae Weems' opening in NYC. The exhibit itself was quite stunning in person. Alfred was miffed he hadn't met me when I was in New York so I could take him to it. Weems' work is both stunning and informative.